


conflict of interest

by spoopyy



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, M/M, shane wears a lab coat unironically and it's a recurring theme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-14 01:33:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11772699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spoopyy/pseuds/spoopyy
Summary: Shane is a high school science teacher who really hates his job. He bumps into a passionate, but lonely history teacher named Ryan, who just might make teaching worth it.





	conflict of interest

**Author's Note:**

> honestly, this was super hard for me to write, and i don't particularly like it myself, but i spent so much time on it that i thought i'd publish it. also, shout out to InkStainsOnMyHands for inspiring the prom scene! you rock <3.

_ I really don’t get paid enough for this,  _ Shane thinks. He really wants to put his head in his hands and give his boss his two weeks, but then he remembers the amount of debt he’s in from student loans and he takes a deep breath instead, nice and easy, in and out. 

It’s the first day of school.

He had planned to go over the syllabus.

Instead, he has to spend the next minute answering a question that can so easily be looked up, thanks to the advent of Google. Oh wait, cell phones weren’t to be used in class. Maybe he’d be able to explain that if he had time to go over the syllabus, and yet.

Shane closes his eyes and takes a moment to center himself.  _ There are no dumb questions, except for the ones left unasked.  _ What a load of bullshit

“No, Suzie, the esophagus is  _ not  _ an external structure.” One would think that the upperclassmen taking AP Biology would know the difference between external and internal structures, and yet, it seems as if the summer homework he had assigned has been left incomplete. Oh well, it’s not his grade, so Shane doesn’t care. That much. If the whole school year is going to be like this, though, then maybe quitting isn’t such a bad idea. 

He really, really hates his job sometimes. No, scratch that, he hates his job all of the time. He doesn't get paid enough to deal with students who half-ass work, who don't respect him, and who decide that it's a good idea to fight outside of his classroom. Why did he decide to become a teacher again? Oh yeah, because he didn’t discover the cure for the common cold and got rejected from grad school. Great. 

“Does anyone else have a question?” he asks. Thankfully, no one else does. Perhaps the class can see how irritated he is, because the classroom goes dead silent. Shane takes the opportunity to  finally draw attention to the syllabus he wrote the night before. Okay, so he can’t fault anyone for procrastination without looking like a hypocrite, but still. He was  _ busy. _

Even though the syllabus is lengthy, Shane makes sure to highlight the fact that he doesn’t accept late work (even though he knows this rule will be broken in a matter of weeks - as always), and by the time he’s explaining his email policies, the bell rings. With a sigh, Shane dismisses the class, his white lab coat billowing behind him. 

Thankfully, the sophomores in chemistry don’t give him as much of a hard time. The syllabus is a lot easier to explain because it’s a class that’s considerably straightforward and besides, the sophomores are quieter, less rowdy and bold, and Shane is grateful for their awkward shyness. 

Physics rolls around about an hour later, and that’s when Shane realizes that he was supposed to pick up school supplies from a classroom he’s never been in before. To be honest, he barely looked at the email, but the principal had put three exclamation points in the subject line so it must be important. Also, he wasn’t aware that the building that housed such supplies even existed, as he spends most of his time in the science hallway anyways. All he needs to know is the location of the office, his classroom, and the teacher’s lounge, right? Whatever. He has eight minutes before physics so he zooms around campus trying to find room A202. 

Ah, it’s the history hallway. At least, he thinks it’s the history hallway. All the hallways look the same, apparently. Shane wouldn’t know; he doesn’t get out much. 

Not to be deterred by similar looking walls, Shane enters through the double doors and has to walk all the way down to the other end of the hallway in order to find room A202. Honestly, the school supplies aren’t worth the amount of walking he has to do, but hey, free stuff. 

Shane doesn’t bother knocking as it’s passing period, so he opens the door and steps inside. He isn’t expecting to be hit with the sight of the most beautiful person he’s ever seen in his life; this history teacher is lean, energetic, and, apparently, very passionate about how shitty triangle trade was. 

This type of passion is exciting for Shane to witness. The way the other man’s eyes light up, how his voice projects because he’s pissed about slavery, the wild hand gestures he uses, makes Shane swallow thickly. He can’t remember ever being excited about history, and yet, this man’s passion for it is so apparent that Shane can’t help but to hang on to every single word.

He didn’t come all this way to stare, however; he needs to get these supplies. (Although if he’s honest with himself, he could stare at this teacher forever and die happy. It would truly be a great way to go out.)

“Uh, sorry for interrupting,” Shane says when the other teacher pauses. He feels bad for cutting the other man off, and Shane can feel his heart stop when the teacher’s brown eyes meet his. 

_ Why have I never seen you before?  _ Shane asks himself.  _ What have I been missing out on? _

“I was told to pick up school supplies from here?” Shane continues, once he gets ahold of himself again, but it comes out as a question because he has so many of them. Who is this hot history teacher and why does he love his job so much? Who even teaches on the first day? What’s his name? How long has he been teaching? What kind of history is this?  _ Does love at first sight exist? _ Shane’s brain short circuits, and it seems that the history teacher’s has also, because Shane sees brown eyes widen when the other checks his watch and realizes that his students might be late to their next class. 

“Mr. Bergara, are you okay?” someone asks when Shane gets no response. The class has already begun to pack up. 

“Yeah, I’m great! What did you need, again?” Shane notices that the history teacher’s voice is about an octave higher, and he can’t help but to smile.

_ Wow, he’s cute.  _

“School supplies. I got an email that said you were distributing them, I guess?” Shane says. He should probably pay more attention to his emails, but then again, there’s a reason he has an email policy in the first place. 

The other teacher moves to his desk and picks up a box. “Here you go,” he says. He pauses, and then, “My name’s Ryan, by the way.” Ryan smiles at him, teeth pearly white and although it’s a hesitant smile, Shane enjoys it nonetheless.

“Thanks, Ryan,” Shane says. He still cannot, for the life of him, tear his eyes away, not even when Ryan shoves the box into his waiting arms. 

“Yeah, no problem,” Ryan says, but he doesn’t move away either. It’s interesting, really, how the two men are so oblivious to students leaving and entering behind them. 

“My name’s Shane. I’m over in the science hall,” Shane says back. He needs Ryan to know who he is because he can’t bear the thought of Ryan being unaware of his existence. 

Ryan is saved from a response because the two minute warning bell has rung, which means Shane needs to run to class. He thanks Ryan again before sprinting out of the classroom. He has to prep for another period of AP Biology, and hopefully, he doesn’t get any more questions about external anatomy. 

Still, even during his prep period, Shane can’t think about science. He can only think about the small, muscular history teacher with the most captivating brown eyes he’s ever seen. He doesn’t get any work done and when he drives himself home after school gets out, his mind is occupied with a lean frame, dark hair, and a hell of a smile.

* * *

They not-so-subtly stay in touch after that. Each of them come up with reasons to “accidentally” bump into the other, and they start seeing each other around school more and more because of this. At first, they only say hi to one another on the way to use the copy machine, but eventually, they start eating lunch together. It’s nice to have someone to talk to, even if they don’t agree on everything all of the time. For instance, Shane learns that Ryan is head of the Conspiracy Club, and while he can tell the smaller man has a passion for the unsolved, some of the conspiracies the club discusses make absolutely no sense. 

“Okay, but I’m just saying, someone would  _ know  _ if Avril Lavigne was replaced. Like, it’s so much of a liability for her record label to keep a secret like that! And besides, so what her music style has changed in between albums? Groups are allowed to change their sound, you know,” Shane says one day. He had sat in for the club because Ryan needed to do something and couldn’t lead the discussion, but now that the students have left and Ryan is back, Shane can freely discuss how stupid he thinks the theories are.

“How do you explain the missing birthmarks? And then Avril all of a sudden has tattoos that Melissa has?” Ryan asks, incredulous. Shane just laughs.

“Cosmetic surgery, for one. And I don’t know, you’ve never wanted to get matching tattoos with a friend?” Shane says, ever the logical one. He doesn’t believe Ryan for a second, but a small part of him wants Ryan to keep talking and never stop, no matter how ridiculous the words coming out of his mouth are. 

“Well, why can’t anyone find social media for Melissa? If she didn’t become Avril, why doesn’t she have, like, at least an Instagram or something?” Ryan counters. 

“I don’t know! Some people aren’t active on Instagram. It’s a young people thing. I don’t even have an Instagram, dude,” Shane says. Ryan doesn’t seem convinced. 

“Look, Chad Kroeger doesn’t seem like the type of dude who knows how to keep secrets. I mean, I don’t know him personally, but I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him,” Shane continues. 

Ryan laughs. “I wouldn’t trust someone with ramen hair either.” 

“See?” Shane says, laughing also. Hearing Ryan laugh is one of the greatest parts of his day. It never fails to make his heart constrict in a way that’s mildly concerning. 

As much as he hates to admit it, talking about conspiracy theories with Ryan isn’t as awful as he thought it was going to be. Sure, he humors Ryan a bit, but it’s actually amazing to see how much thought and research Ryan puts into these theories. No wonder the members of the Conspiracy Club love it so much. 

“What do you think about the theory that fluoride in toothpaste is a form of mind control?” Ryan can’t keep the smile off his face. 

“Isn’t your dad a dentist?” Shane asks. Ryan bursts out laughing. 

“Okay, yeah, didn’t think you’d buy into that one. But yeah, Pops pretty much agrees that this conspiracy is bullshit,” Ryan replies. 

“Why do you like conspiracies so much?” Shane asks, after a moment. He hopes the question doesn’t come off the wrong way; the last thing he wants to do is upset Ryan. 

“They are so fascinating to me. I mean, I wasn’t the best at science at school, but I think that there are things in this world that science can’t explain. And it’s cool, I guess, that people notice inconsistencies and try to fill in the blanks.” Ryan is always so passionate when he speaks, and this time is no exception. It’s pretty hot, if Shane is completely honest with himself.

“I dunno, I can’t see the appeal. I’ve always loved science and to me, it really explains everything, you know?” Shane says. Wait, can it explain everything? Can science explain why his heart rate increases every time he talks to Ryan, why he blushes wildly when Ryan gives him that soft smile of his, why it feels like he has  _ constrictive pericarditis  _ every time he thinks about Ryan when the other isn’t there?

_ Dopamine, oxytocin, and cortisol all come together when you have a crush.  _

Oh. That’s what this is. 

Shit. 

* * *

August and September start to blend into one another; the weather changes, the leaves are turning crisp and orange, and everyone is settling into their routines for the year. Classes really start to get going, there’s assignments in the grade book, and it feels just like another school year except for the fact that Halloween comes quicker than anyone realizes; it catches students and staff by storm, and very soon, there are spirit days created to celebrate the holiday. 

Shane hates Halloween. It’s not that he’s scared of ghosts, demons, or anything else considered spooky, it’s that Halloween doesn’t even make sense as a holiday. For one, it’s bad to give kids candy (their poor teeth!), and for two, he doesn’t like dressing up. It makes him feel silly, like he’s putting on an act (and okay, maybe that’s the  _ point _ of the holiday, but  _ still _ ). Also, he doesn’t even get a day off from work, which cements the idea that Halloween is a fake holiday that doesn’t deserve the recognition it gets. 

Everyone else seems to recognize it, though, and Shane just about quits on the spot when, at the staff meeting, the principal says that he has to dress up to “promote school spirit and to get students more engaged”. Kids don’t become better students just because they’re wearing a costume, but whatever. 

_ Shane, you can’t quit. The department needs you,  _ he thinks to himself when the principal says they’re having a staff only Halloween party. He pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He’s not even staving off a headache at this point; he’s truly considering the pros and cons of keeping his job. 

“I expect you all to be there! It’ll be fun! I can’t wait to see your costumes!” the principal says, and she’s way too chipper for Shane’s tastes. 

They get dismissed when the meeting is over. Shane stays to get a cup of coffee before getting back to teaching, because coffee is solid and real and isn’t a national holiday he has to celebrate. 

“So, what are you gonna be for Halloween?” Ryan asks, sidling up to the coffee machine. Shane nearly drops his cup in surprise. 

“Uh, I’m not sure yet,” Shane replies. He really hasn’t given the whole thing a second thought, other than the recurring  _ this is stupid  _ mantra that usually helps him get through the day. 

“Oh,” Ryan says with something of a frown. 

Shane never, ever wants to see Ryan unhappy ever again. It physically pains him to witness the way that the corners of Ryan’s mouth turn down, the way that his shoulders slump, as if Shane not wanting to participate in Halloween is a personal offense. 

“Yeah, I’ll figure it out eventually. What’re you gonna go as?” Shane asks. He just wants to see Ryan smile.

It works, because Ryan lights up. Shane smiles at himself, glad to be the source of Ryan’s happiness, if only for a moment. 

“I’m not sure yet, I have so many ideas! I was a vampire last year, so I don’t want a repeat of that. Maybe a werewolf, if I can get a mask in time, or maybe a pirate? Oooh, I’ve always wanted to be something scary, like a clown,” Ryan says. He’s rambling. It’s so cute. 

“Maybe you could go as a hot history teacher.” The words are out of his mouth before he can stop them. Shane is blushing to the roots of his hair, and he can see the smaller man blushing as well. 

“You think I’m hot?” Ryan asks after a moment. He’s blushing as well, eyes downcast, obviously embarrassed. 

“Well, you’re the only history teacher I talk to,” Shane replies. Why does he have to say the stupidest things?

“Well, thank you,” Ryan says with a little bit of a nervous laugh. He pauses, as if debating with himself, and then he says, “I think you’re hot too.” 

Shane’s heart stops. 

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Shane says. He’s still blushing madly. The whole exchange is more awkward than comical, but thankfully, Ryan breaks the tension. 

“Do you wanna get coffee sometime?” Ryan asks. He bites his lip, a little unsure. 

“I would love that,” Shane replies. (On the outside, he’s calm, cool, collected, the exact type of person who isn’t easily flustered. On the inside, he’s screaming at the top of his lungs because  _ yes, he would love nothing more than to get coffee with Ryan and this is becoming too much to handle all at once.)  _

“Tomorrow, then? After work? I could help you pick out a costume,” Ryan says, smiling shyly. 

“That sounds great!” Shane says. They exchange numbers. 

Shane is just about to leave when Ryan says, “Sorry, but can you get me a cup from the cupboard? I can’t reach.” 

Shane wants to say  _ Yes, anything for you  _ but he doesn’t because that would be weird. Instead, he grabs a cup for Ryan and hands it to the smaller man. He stops breathing when their fingers brush during the exchange. 

“Thank you. You’re sweet,” Ryan says. He has to get on his tiptoes to kiss Shane on the cheek, and it takes all that Shane has to not spontaneously combust. 

* * *

“I’m not going as Bigfoot,” Shane says. He doesn’t remember Ryan dragging him all over town to find the perfect costume store, but yet, here he is, surrounded with ridiculous costumes for  _ children.  _ If it didn’t make Ryan so happy, Shane would’ve left already, but Ryan’s been really good at softening Shane’s heart these past few months.

“You’re already as tall as Bigfoot! I think it’ll be funny! Besides, who  _ doesn’t  _ want a picture with a cryptid?” Ryan says, holding the costume up in front of Shane to see if it will fit. 

“Why can’t I go as a mad scientist?” Shane asks, exasperated. 

“Because you already wear a lab coat around 24/7, which is so weird by the way. Also, you do have a tendency to go kind of crazy with chemicals, or so I’ve heard,” Ryan replies. He hangs the Bigfoot costume back on it’s hook and starts sifting through other costumes. 

“It’s not weird! It’s  _ fashion.  _ And besides, you never know when you’re going to come into contact with a harmful substance,” Shane defends. Ryan just rolls his eyes. 

“That’s kind of why clothes were invented, y’know,” he says dryly. Shane shakes his head. 

“Are you gonna say that clothes are a conspiracy theory too?” Shane teases.

“Only the ones that members of the Illuminati wear,” Ryan says back. 

“Should I go as a member of the Illuminati, then? What do they even wear?” Shane asks. He carefully sets down a lobster costume. Why the hell would anyone want to be a lobster for Halloween? 

“Well, since the Illuminati is made up of celebrities, why not dress like one? I’m sure there’s a Bieber costume somewhere,” Ryan says, still browsing.

“Bieber is where I draw the line, man!” Shane says, laughing. 

“Okay, so no Illuminati,” Ryan replies. He steps away from the costumes, thinking. 

“What’re you gonna be, Ryan?” Shane asks. “Have you figured it out yet?” Shane is tired of looking through rows and rows of material. He’d rather focus on Ryan for right now. 

“I’m going as Mario. I know I said I wanted to be something scary, but I don’t think the freshman would appreciate that. Besides, I think I look enough like Mario to pull it off. I already have the fake mustache and everything,” Ryan responds. 

Shane smiles as he spots a Luigi costume nearby. 

“Let’s match?” Shane asks, holding the costume up. 

“Really? You want to match with me?” Ryan says, like he can’t contain his excitement. 

“Yeah, why not? I don’t have a better idea,” Shane replies. 

Ryan doesn’t say anything for a moment. He just looks at the ground, a little embarrassed.

“What’s up? Are you okay?” Shane asks. Ryan doesn’t respond, so Shane hooks a finger underneath Ryan’s chin so the younger man is forced to make eye contact. 

“I’m fine. I was just thinking,” Ryan says. 

“About?” 

Ryan bites his lip. 

“You can tell me anything, y’know,” Shane says, voice soft.

“It’s just….have you ever thought of the fact that Mario’s full name is Mario Mario? And Luigi’s is Luigi Mario? Because they’re the Mario brothers?” Ryan says. 

Shane loses it in the middle of the store. Ryan is just as affected by his findings, because he too is wheezing. They both end up in peels of laughter, clutching their sides.

_ Geez, he’s hot and funny,  _ Shane thinks to himself. He throws his doubts out the door, for once. He can do this,  _ they can do this. _

Maybe becoming a teacher wasn’t so bad an idea after all. 

* * *

The Halloween staff party leaves much to be desired; it’s about as boring as a high school staff party can be. The only thing of real interest are the decorations, which are more cute than they are spooky. 

Shane finds another reason to dislike Halloween: the color orange is pretty offensive, in his opinion. It’s honestly another reason why Halloween should be banned nationwide. Really, he should call someone about this.  

“Aw, the two of you look so cute!” their boss says, coming up to where Shane and Ryan are standing. They’re a bit away from the party because it’s kind of boring, and besides, they’re debating about a new conspiracy that Ryan has just brought to Shane’s attention.  

“Uh, thanks?” Ryan says, a little confused. Shane agrees with his sentiment; was this appropriate behavior coming from the principal? 

Shane understands, at that moment, and tries not to let jealousy bubble up to the surface, especially because the principal is looking at Ryan appreciatively and batting her eyelashes at him very frequently. Oh shit, she likes him. Gross. (He’s not mad. Not at all.)

“Where did you find the matching costumes?” she asks. Her eyes flick over to Shane very briefly, and he doesn’t miss the look of confusion she gives him. 

“Oh, y’know,” Shane says, trying not to snap at her. “The store.”

Ryan laughs and the principal storms off, obviously offended at not being taken seriously.

“Dude, she totally likes you. That is...really creepy,” Shane says. He’s pretty sure that’s a workplace violation of some sort. Should he call the Superintendent? 

Ryan nods. “Yeah, it’s definitely weird. Can she get fired for that?” 

“Hopefully,” Shane replies. 

They are spared the rest of the conversation because they actually have to teach now. Whoever decided that the staff party should happen before school should honestly be fired, or at least, have a very long conversation about school spirit. 

Shane and Ryan part and go to their respective classrooms. First period is AP Biology for Shane (he’s cringing on the inside - it’s by far his least favorite class to teach), and World History for Ryan. 

Half of Shane’s class participates in dressing up, and the other half don’t make an effort to. Whatever. They’re doing a lab anyway. Yay chemicals! Except not really, because this lab is on transcription; all the fun ones are for after winter break. 

Shane gets them to work, observing and helping students as needed. It’s far from a difficult lab, and yet, something goes wrong and a lab station has a mini explosion. Good thing Shane was wearing his lab coat. 

* * *

November is bland. Thanksgiving comes and goes and it’s another awful holiday as well, but at least it’s a well needed break from grading papers, which both teachers are behind on. To be fair, texting each other is more fun than their state approved curriculum, and they have definitely been good at distracting each other. 

Shane is grading some physics worksheets when he gets the notification.  _ This might be weird, but do you wear the lab coat to bed?  _ Ryan’s texts always brighten up his day, as weird as they are. 

_ I am a normal human being, you know. Normal humans wear pajamas.  _ He tosses his phone aside because if he finishes grading the next twenty worksheets, he can stop stressing and actually respond to the emails from concerned students who are wondering when their assignments will be put in the gradebook. 

He finishes grading about ten minutes later; most of the worksheets are half done, which honestly make his job easier. Maybe he should start encouraging his students to turn in incomplete work, as it makes grading much faster. It’s something he should add to the syllabus, and he makes a note to do so just as his phone beeps.

_ Do you think Einstein wore a lab coat to bed?  _ Ryan responds. 

Shane laughs.  _ He was too busy coming up with the theory of relativity to sleep, Ryan.  _

He emails his students back (and tells them to spread the word because answering emails are the bane of his existence and he’d rather not deal with them ever) and he’s halfway to inputting grades when his phone buzzes again. He probably shouldn’t text and do grades at the same time because he’s probably going to mess something up, but he really misses Ryan, even though it’s only been a week. 

_ Doubt it,  _ Ryan texts back.

_ Don’t you have papers to grade?  _ Shane hopes it doesn’t come off as rude. 

_ Yeah, but I can only read about Napoleon so many times before I want to die.  _

_ I’ll build you a time machine so you can go back in time and sort out the French monarchy _ . Shane finishes inputting grades and high fives himself. He pushes his laptop away and grabs his phone again.

_ That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.  _

Shane’s heart flutters. He’s so smitten, it’s ridiculous.

He hopes Ryan feels the same way too.

* * *

  
They don’t see each other face to face for a while. Finals are in full swing and teachers are busy administering exams and preparing for next semester. Shane has labs to sort out, and Ryan needs to get started on the 1848 Revolutions, because he wants to go over World War 1 by February. 

Both teachers are pretty stressed out about AP Testing as well. Part of being a teacher is stressing out before the students get stressed out, and with May approaching, that stress is definitely settling in. 

Thankfully, it’s the last day before winter break, which means that it’s a minimum day. As soon as the last final ends, Shane can leave and then sleep for two weeks straight. Shane has never been more grateful to only teach five classes.

He walks to Ryan’s classroom out of habit (they try to see each other before Ryan’s zero period class starts, but Shane is running late today); Ryan does not have the same luxury of teaching for five hours a day, and so it’s a little tradition of theirs to bring each other coffee every so often, just like their first ‘date’.

Shane stands in the doorway, one cup of coffee in each hand. Honestly, he could watch Ryan talk for forever. It’s amazing, really, how much energy Ryan has in the morning, even though he knows how exhausted Ryan is. As he watches Ryan lecture, Shane comes to a startling realization: he loves the passion that Ryan naturally exudes, he loves the way that Ryan cares  _ so much  _ about his job, how he teaches because he loves it and not because of the paycheck. He loves the way that Ryan calls his class to attention by simply  _ being.  _ Honestly, even though it’s seven in the morning, the participation rate far exceeds that of Shane’s classes. It’s the best thing that Shane has ever seen in his life, and he’s absolutely enamored. 

Eventually, Ryan’s eyes meet his and it’s like everything else fades into the background. Ryan lights up and walks to the doorway, accepting the cup from Shane with that soft smile of his. 

“Thank you,” he says, his voice low. Behind him, the class falls silent, and Ryan seems to realize because he pushes Shane out into the hallway. Ryan stands so that the door hits his back, shielding the two of them from view of Ryan’s students, who are now whispering very loudly amongst themselves. 

“You’re welcome,” Shane replies easily. Ryan bites his lip and looks at his classroom very briefly. Then, slowly, he’s on his tiptoes, he’s coming closer, he’s closing his eyes...and then they’re kissing and it’s more than wonderful and Shane can’t help but to pull him closer. 

Shane is understandably distracted the rest of the school day. 

* * *

They don’t talk about it, but they do talk to each other every single day over break. Two weeks off isn’t enough, but it’s better than nothing, and honestly, a little part of Shane wants the vacation to be over so that he can see (and hopefully kiss) Ryan again.

In between lesson planning, grading finals and submitting grades, they actually find time to meet up. New Year's is approaching and Shane really, really wants Ryan to kiss him again. It’s a physical need, an ache in his chest, and it’s a longing like he’s never experienced before. 

It’s this longing that makes him text Ryan at one in the morning.  _ Do you want to come over for New Years?  _ seems innocent enough, and to his surprise, Ryan responds immediately. 

_ I would love that.  _ He gives Ryan his address as fast as possible.

Ryan’s acceptance prompts Shane to clean his entire apartment. He’s only finished when it’s a reasonable time to be awake, and even then, he’s a little anxious about having someone else in his space. Still, Shane is excited to see Ryan again, and when Ryan finally comes over, all the worry is gone. 

They end up getting pizza, talking about school and how much they hate their principal, and then, when it’s a minute to midnight, they’re all over each other. 

It truly is the best way to start the New Year. 

* * *

  
January cements their relationship. Now that they’re official, they take great care to maintain a professional atmosphere at school. After spending hours googling “Can two teachers date each other” they come to the conclusion that they’re okay as long as they aren’t overt, which is fine, considering they’re a few hallways down. This proves to be difficult when all they can think about is each other, however. 

And as hard as they try, they aren’t subtle at all, especially come Valentine’s day.

Shane walks into his classroom on said day and sees his desk covered in post it notes. There’s flowers and a card on his desk, and holy shit, he has the sweetest, most thoughtful boyfriend in the world. 

_ Each sticky note is something I like about you.  _

Shane reads them slowly, one by one.  _ The way you make me laugh. How you wear your lab coat around even when the situation doesn’t call for it. The way your hair does that thing when you wake up in the morning. How you always bring me coffee when I need it most. How you always hear me out even though you think my theories are nonsense. _

Shane picks them off his desk as he reads them and stuffs them into his bag. He’s almost done when he sees a sticky note that he had missed the first time around. It’s a different color than all the rest, which makes him notice it more.

_ I love you. _

For some reason, it’s those three words that make him choke up. He doesn’t care about the bell schedule, or the students he almost runs into. He doesn’t care that the both of them have classes to teach, or that Ryan’s classroom is so far away from his. It doesn’t matter, because Ryan loves him.

Ryan’s not in his classroom, and Shane can’t help but to be disappointed. It probably would’ve been smarter to just text Ryan, but Shane is impulsive and he’s moved by Ryan’s grand gesture and saying  _ I love you too  _ over text isn’t the most romantic thing in the world. Besides, he wants to see Ryan’s reaction. 

“Mr. Madej? Are you and Mr. Bergara dating?” someone in Ryan’s class speaks up. Shane blushes; he really, truly, wants to evaporate on the spot but he can’t because that’s not how physics works.  

Shane doesn’t answer, because he doesn’t owe an answer to any student about his personal life. Besides, that’s not what students should be focusing on. APs are approaching faster than the speed of light, and it’s a looming fear in the back of Shane’s mind that he hasn’t done enough to prepare for them, especially since students still love to ask him foolish questions. 

“Are you preparing for your AP Test? Because you’re going to need to do a lot of extra work if your grade in my class is any indication of your future success.” Shane realizes that this student has both of them for class. What a coincidence. 

“Wow, sick burn,” someone deadpans. Shane would recognize that voice anywhere, and he all but runs to the doorway that Ryan is leaning on. 

“Hey,” he says, voice soft, like the entire class can’t hear what he’s saying. He realizes, after a moment, that his voice is on the edge of breaking. He’s holding back tears, honestly, and Ryan seems to understand that, because he gently cups Shane’s cheek. 

“Hey,” Ryan responds. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but don’t you have class right now?” 

Shane nods. “Yeah, but they’ll be fine.”

Ryan laughs. “What’s up?”

“I love you too,” Shane says, and he kisses Ryan, pulling him close. His heart is full and it’s like nothing he’s ever experienced before in his life, and he doesn’t care about the students behind him (who are now cheering for the couple), and he doesn’t care about how they’re supposed to be discreet. He doesn’t care about how their relationship is probably not 100% allowed, but Shane can spend forever kissing Ryan, so really, it’s entirely worth it.

* * *

  
Shane gets called to the principal’s office the week before Spring Break. It’s irritating, really, because he has classes to prepare for, and he really can’t afford to stop teaching, not when AP tests are so close. In this district, at least, pass rates are everything, and if his flops because of a stupid meeting he really doesn’t need to have, he’ll be so pissed. 

Surprisingly, Ryan is already there when Shane arrives. He smiles at Shane, but it’s a little bit tight and not at all like the gentle glances Shane is used to from the other man. Shane smiles back at him and takes a seat. 

“Do you know why I’ve called both of you in here?” their principal starts. When both men shake their heads, she continues. “It has come to my attention that you two are not maintaining a professional relationship. Teachers dating each other is something of a conflict of interest, and if you’re not careful, you could end up being fired for this.” 

There’s complete silence after that. 

“With all due respect ma’am, our relationship is perfectly fine! We are still maintaining our duties as teachers,” Ryan says. 

Shane nods. “Yeah, absolutely! We aren’t letting our relationship distract from work.” That’s a little bit of a lie, but hey, as long as they don’t get in trouble, it should be cool, right?

“I understand that, but I can’t have you be distracted, not when AP Testing is so close and when pass rates are so important, this year now more than ever. As you probably know, the district is looking into making some cuts for the upcoming year, and if your relationship affects your work, then the district will have no choice but to fire you. That being said…” she trails off for dramatic effect. 

“I will fight for you if the district gets involved. You’re some of the best teachers at this school, and I’m confident that your class averages and your pass rate won’t decline just because of this relationship. I trust in the both of you to know what’s appropriate and what isn’t. So no more kissing in front of the students, okay?” she asks, an eyebrow raised. 

“How does she know about that?” Ryan mouths at Shane, who gives a half-hearted shrug. It was probably a student or something. 

“Now that we have that out of the way,” their principal continues, “we need chaperones for prom. And since the two of you love chaperoning so much, I expect to see you there!” She’s cheerful as always, and it’s a little bit annoying, but hey, both teachers are grateful because they didn’t get fired, and they weren’t forced to break up. It’s a win win situation, really. 

Plus, who doesn’t love prom?  

* * *

  
“I never went to prom,” Ryan ventures on the balmy April night of prom. They’re supposed to be chaperoning, but they managed to sneak away from all of the noise and the strobe lights. The upperclassmen will be  _ fine,  _ and besides, they’re both so busy with work because AP testing is literally next week, and really, they deserve one night to themselves. 

“Really?” Shane asks, his head in Ryan’s lap. Ryan hums, brushing his fingers through Shane’s hair. 

“Yeah. I had no one to go with,” Ryan continues, staring at nothing. He doesn’t seem sad about it in the slightest. If anything, he seems almost…yearning?

“You could’ve gone with friends,” Shane replies. “That’s what I did, and it was still a lot of fun.” 

“You’re assuming I had friends,” Ryan says. Shane’s heart breaks for him. Who wouldn’t want to be Ryan’s friend? 

“I would’ve taken you,” Shane says seriously, staring up at Ryan. He tries to memorize the contours of Ryan’s face, the way the moonlight plays with his eyes, the way that his lips turn into a smile when he processes what Shane said. 

“We could’ve had matching boutonnières,” Ryan says wistfully. 

“And then you would win Prom King, we’d go out for burgers after, and then I’d drive you home and kiss you goodnight on your doorstep,” Shane continues. 

“Kiss me right now,” Ryan replies, and Shane doesn’t hesitate to oblige. It’s a little bit weird because they’re kissing upside down, but it’s sweet nonetheless.

Once they break apart, Shane gets to his feet. He pulls Ryan up with him, and once Ryan is standing, Shane holds out his hand.

“Dance with me?” he asks. 

Ryan smiles and takes his hand. 

They sway more than they dance, which is ironic because a slow song isn’t even playing. Instead, all they can hear is the backbeat of some crappy pop song that sounds the same as the other twenty songs before it. 

As the taller of the two, Shane rests his head on top of Ryan’s. He puts his hands on Ryan’s waist, and the other brings them closer by snaking his arms around Shane’s neck. They sway until the song inside changes, and then Shane takes that opportunity to spin Ryan around. Ryan grins, and Shane leans forward. Ryan follows, standing on his tippy toes to kiss Shane full on the mouth.

It would’ve been sweet had it not been for the shouting they hear. 

“LEAVE ROOM FOR JESUS,” someone says, breaking them apart. Shane laughs when he sees a security guard brandishing a ruler at them. “YOU MUST BE THIS FAR APART AT ALL TIMES.” 

“We’re not students,” Ryan says. He’s laughing too. 

“Oh, my bad. Have a nice night,” the security guard says, dropping the ruler to his side. He walks away, leaving the two lovebirds standing outside, laughing so hard they’re crying. 

It truly is a night to remember.

* * *

The end of the year approaches with relief and with more stress than is necessary. May brings AP Testing, and Shane finally feels like his students are adequately prepared, because he beat his class average during the practice tests and the quality of work has improved drastically since the beginning of the year. Even Suzie, who asked about esophaguses, has done well enough to pass the multiple choice portion of the mock AP Biology exam, and that’s more than Shane can ask for. 

The days of the tests are boring; thankfully, neither Ryan nor Shane have to proctor, which means that they catch up on grades in between texting each other every period. Classes are a lot emptier this time of year, so it’s nice to have a moment or two to themselves every hour. They prepare for finals as well, but neither one of them have the intention of testing their students after AP Testing, because they are nice, benevolent teachers who don’t hate their students at all. Well, most of the time, that is. 

School is out at last! Papers have been graded, grades have been turned in, the seniors have graduated, and Shane has officially clocked out for the summer. He’s finishing packing up for the year when he sees the untouched box of school supplies that led him to Ryan. He stares at it for a moment, and then leaves it on his desk; it’s a problem for future Shane to deal with.

Shane takes off his lab coat and puts it in his bag. He won’t need it during summer, after all, and besides, it would be silly for him to wear it in Southern California heat. 

Shane also visits Ryan’s classroom before he leaves. He has a very important question to ask, after all. 

Ryan smiles when he sees Shane, and he crosses his classroom very quickly to give Shane a hug. Shane kisses him on the head and says, “Move in with me?” into Ryan’s hair. Ryan pulls back to look Shane in the eyes. 

“Of course,” he responds, and Shane couldn’t be happier. 

If they show up the next school year with matching rings on their fingers, well, it’s no one’s business but their own. 


End file.
